My Baby Shot Me Down
by TheGoofyCat
Summary: COMPLETED! She was five and he was six, they rode on horses made of sticks. He wore black and she wore white, he would always win the fight. Whatever happened to the young mans heart? (Prequel to Nonofficial Love and Unofficial Hatred, Extracts from Rebecca and Ace's past and how they came to be)
1. The Boy in Black

**_Disclaimer:_**I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this that are recognised.

_**Author's Note****:** _Well after years I am finally getting around to writing the prequel, I've decided to put this up while I'm still writing **Unoffical Hatred**, because I can and I've always been one of those writers who have about a million fics going on haha god help me trying to finish them. Anyway this is the prequel to **Nonoffical Love**, it's basically little flashbacks of Ace and Rebecca's past and how they came to be and how Ace got so mean and cold :) Story is based around the song **Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) **- **Nancy Sinatra's **version, because I think it totally fits with the stories and how Rebecca feels and when I hear it I think of the couple, if you haven't read the series I'd recommend reading Nonofficial Love before this basically to understand some of the things mentioned in this. Think I might need a Beta for this and the whole series so if you're reading and up for a challenge PM me, I will give full credit.  
Enjoy, let me know what you think with a Review.  
(Edit) P.s I didn't see that there was another story on here called **Bang, Bang **by** kmcgeezy** from the same song, just wanted to say that I didn't copy it because I had no idea about the story and I've had this song idea since 2012, so anyway check her story out it's great, thought I would explain myself before anyone thinks I was taking ideas from someone else. :)

* * *

**_My Baby Shot Me Down  
TheGoofyCat_**

***Early Summer 1946***

"Rebecca? Rebecca? Come quick," A small girl the age of five called out for her cousin.

"What is it, Jann?" Her cousin replied, stepping out from behind a tree. They were both wearing matching white dresses with white knee high socks, their not so clean buckled white shoes were worn from the adventure they had decided to go on, the two kids were out playing near the forest leading away from Castle Rock as Rebecca's father, who was supposed to be babysitting, fished with a pal on the bridge. If he knew they were out this far out of town they would have been punished.

"It's a rabbit," Jann cried. "I think it's hurt." She pointed to a half-dead rabbit on the side of the road, they made their way to it and the rabbit laid on the ground motionless but still breathing.

"It's dying," Rebecca looked down at the rabbit, she had poked it with a stick and it had been unresponsive.

"Can we take it home and make it better?" The young girl cried, tears streaming down her baby-face. "Please?"

Rebecca didn't say a word she took a small breath, she knew her daddy wouldn't dare allow them to bring an animal into there home, she closed her eyes and hit the rabbit as hard as she could with the stick, it laid there dead, rather then seeing it suffer a slow and painful death she thought it was better to put it out of it's misery.

"Noo, why did you do that for?" Jann cried even more, her young heart broken, she knew that she would remember this for the rest of her life, her first taste of true sadness.

"It was-" Rebecca was about to reply but she had been interrupted.

"It was weak," The two girls watched as a young boy around the same age or a little older jumped off a fence he had perched himself on, the entire time he had gone unnoticed and in the background watching the two girls play.

The two girls both took a step back from the rabbit. They warily watched as he made his way over to them.

"It was weak! And weak things need to be killed." He solemnly stated as he took the stick out of Rebecca's hand and proceeded to prod the dead animal in it's side.

Rebecca cocked her head to the side and looked at him taking in his features. Slightly puzzled at what he had said, she wondered who this strange boy was.

"Who are you?" Jann shyly asked while letting out a sniffle, she decided then that she did not like this naughty little boy. Rebecca studied his clothes, he wore all black and it made his sandy blonde hair stand out, he looked different from most boys she knew and she found him intriguing.

"John." He took a step towards the girls. "John Merrill."

That night while her mother brushed the messy tangles that took over her curls, she asked her about the Merrill's, up until now she only had known about Junior Merrill and his wife Valerie and older son Andrew, she had no idea there was another boy in the family, though she didn't dare tell her the true story of how she met John, her mother would have punished her for being so un-lady like.

"Oh that's John," Judy Chambers whispered into her ear, not wanting to wake up Frank Snr, who was sleeping after a hard day's work of fishing for their supper. "You see, Becca. Mrs. Merrill was very surprised when the stork handed her John, in fact Mr. Merrill was very angry with the stork, they didn't have enough money to feed an extra mouth." Judy told her. Back in 1939 when Junior Merrill found out his wife was with child again he was angry, he already had a child and he didn't need another one and when John was born, he resented him, he didn't like to talk about the boy much and they kept him hidden from the outside world as often as they could.

"There's fish left over from supper, can't we give it to the Merrill's?" Rebecca felt sad for the boy, she found herself captivated by him and she wanted too know his full story. Judy smiled down at her daughter, she was sweet and innocent, she wondered how long that would last.

"Maybe we can leave out some fish on the back porch and the stork might come, would you like that?" She asked her youngest, her and Frank had been debating whether to add another baby to the family or not, it was just the four of them at that time. Rebecca was the youngest and her brother Frank the eldest.

"Yeah."

A year and a half later her brother Chris was born.


	2. Stop That!

"Please, Rebecca?" Her best friend, Cassie Saunders, complained as the two young girls wandered through the field, it was getting late and Cassie had to return home, the two girls had told their parents that they were both playing at each others houses. "It's getting late, the bogey man might get us."

"In a minute." Rebecca replied, looking up at all the trees in hope that John Merrill would be sitting up in one watching them.

"My mommy says we should never be on our own at this time. It's dangerous."

"Okay we'll go home." Rebecca gave in and they began their journey home.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Cassie asked as she stepped off the muddy grass and onto the pavement.

"I lost my shoe the other day." Rebecca lied, truth was she didn't want to tell her all about the boy, she kept the story to herself. The two said their goodbyes and they both headed in different directions to their homes, it was nearly dinner time and Rebecca was hungry so she was walking extra fast, she was slightly disappointed that she hadn't seen the boy since.

She suddenly had a feeling someone was following her, was it the bogey man? Freaked out and scared, she quickly thought about all the night time horror stories her brother Frank told her when she went to bed, she began to run as fast as she could.

She could hear someone running behind her, she nearly started crying as a voice whispered.

"Boo!" In her ear, she screamed and the shock caused her to trip and fall to the floor.

John Merrill began to laugh, she snapped her head up and looked at him and a frown formed on her face. He grinned down at her as he put out his hand to help her up, she grudgingly held onto it as he pulled her up.

"That was mean." She told him, crossing her arms. "You made me fall."

He shrugged her off. "I didn't mean to."

"Well you did." She huffed, the two stood there staring at each other. "My momma says the stork brought you here when you were a baby."

"Storks don't bring babies, people have babies." He stated a matter-of-factly to her, proud of his wisdom.

"Well then what do Stork's bring?" She tilted her head in wonderment, not fully understanding what he had said.

He answered her question with a shrug. "You want to play a game?"

"I have to go home, it's late." She replied looking up at the sky that was about to turn dark. "Don't you have a bed time?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Because I don't."

"But why? Doesn't your mommy want you in?"

He shook his head in response.

"Why?" She frowned again.

"Do you always ask things?" He asked and she shrugged her shoulders in response and kept her eyes to the floor.

"I have to go home now."

"Why?"

"Because I'll get in to trouble."

"Why?"

"I'll get punished for being out at dark."

"Why?"

She frustratingly stomped her feet on the ground, her temper raising. "Stop that!"

"Why?" He grinned and she felt her cheeks go red with rage.

She grunted at him, her eyes glaring up at him. He pushed her playfully with his right hand and she looked at him sheepishly, she would have pushed him back but her momma told her girls didn't play fight.

"Don't be such a baby." He told her.

She crossed her arms again. "I'm not a baby."

"JOHN!" They heard a female voice call out to him from across the road, it was his mother Valerie.

He looked at Rebecca and she gave him a bashful smile, he smirked at her and then whispered into her ear.

"Meet me here at the field tomorrow after supper." Before making his way across the road.

She watched him and pondered to herself about how she was going to sneak out of the house to meet him, she began to think of a plan.


	3. Pinky Pact

_***Late Summer 1947***_

"Where we going John-John?" Rebecca asked as they walked through the quiet streets of Castle Rock.

"We're nearly there" He replied as he stepped up his pace. "And stop calling me that, Becca. You know I don't like it, makes me sound like a baby." He frowned at the thought of his name.

"Well make up a new name then." She poked her tongue out at him, catching up to him, she crossed her arms as they came to a stop. "Thornberry Close?" She read the street sign. "Why's it called that?"

"You'll see." He grinned as he turned left and started walking, she followed him as they came to end.

She looked around, taking in the surroundings all that was there was an old thorn bush . "John-John? It's a dead end."

"I can see that." He replied as he went over to the thorn bush and crouched down, moving some branches away. He started to crawl through.

"But-" Rebecca exclaimed about to refuse to follow him but he interrupted her.

"Come on." She watched as his legs disappeared.

"Alright." She said with caution as she crawled down and followed him through the bush, "Ow!" She exclaimed as the thorns scratched at her bare arms. "My arms."

She rubbed her skinny scratched arms as she got up from the floor and watched him as he ran across the garden to another thorn bush.

"Hey John-John don't go so fast." She called out, she tried to run to him but her feet caught something and she fell to the floor and she screamed. John made appeared from behind the thorn bush and ran to her, he looked down at her and noticed she was about to cry, a shard of glass stuck out from her left leg, just below the knee.

"OWW! It hurts!" Rebecca cried, he put out his left hand and placed it on her shoulder, calming her instantly, he sat down next to her and gently removed the glass from her leg, the wound wasn't deep enough for any damage, he then rolled up his tattered jeans of his left leg and made a small cut at the same location as hers, it drew blood and he placed his cut on to hers.

"Here, now whenever you hurt yourself the pain goes straight to me!" He grinned, as the rosy color of her cheeks returned to her face.

"Really?" She asked, perking up.

"Yeah." He replied, a slight smile on his face. "Now quit crying."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I can't help it, it hurt."

"You're a baby."

"Not any more, my mom's having a baby, I'm gonna have a little sister." She beamed and he looked at her strangely.

"How do you know it's a girl?" He asked, pulling her up.

"Because I do. I'm not going to be the youngest any more." She replied.

"You know what that means?" He asked and she shook her head. "Means they'll forget about you."

"Why?"

"Because grown ups always forget about their other kids, when a new baby comes."

"That'll never happen." She gave him a small glare and pushed him with her hands.

"Will to."

"Will not."

"You'll see." He replied. "That's why my brother hates me so much."

"Well I'm not gonna hate my little sister." She replied back to him, ending the conversation. "Where are we anyway?" She asked, looking around and seeing a big garden with a house to her right, it looked like it had been abandoned for years.

"I dunno," He answered.

"Hey, maybe it can be our secret hiding place." She told him an idea formed in her head.

"Yeah." He smirked, as he picked up a long stick. "Nobody will know about it but us, yeah?"

"Pinky promise?" Rebecca smiled holding out her little finger from her right hand.

"Put that away." He shook his head.

"C'mon John-John."

"That's baby stuff." He scoffed, her eyes gave him a puppy dog look and he smirked and reluctantly held out his right finger and both of their pinkies inter-wind.

"Now that's a pact." She smiled at him but the smile turned upside down when she realised what he had planed, he smirked down at the stick that he was holding and she let go of his hand and ran away and he began to run after her.


	4. Shattered Innocence

_***February**_** 1948***

It was a chilly Saturday when Rebecca crawled through the thorn-bush and ran up to her best friend John, who was sitting on the grass playing with a little toy truck. He stopped as soon as she sat next to him and put it back in his pocket.

"What took you so long?" The eight year old boy asked.

"That baby! My momma made me help change his diaper." She pulled a face and stuck out her tongue. "I don't like it very much, all it does is cry and keep my daddy awake."

"I told you that would happen." He pointed out.

"I thought it would be like my old dolly." She sighed and then perked up. "Hey. Maybe Frank will pull Christopher's head off too!" She exclaimed.

"You're strange." He told her, shaking his head and his sandy blonde hair moved in the wind. "I thought girls liked babies."

"Not me! I'm asking the stork to bring me something else." She confidently told him, as she fiddled with the buckle of her shoe.

"I think someone needs to tell you where babies come from." He looked at her and a little smirk etched on his face, he started to whisper in her ear telling her all about what his brother had told him, her eyes widened and her childhood innocence shattered into a million pieces.

"They did that?" She asked horrified. "But? Why?" She tilted her head at him.

"I dunno." He shrugged and then got up from the ground. "C'mon I'm hungry, my mom's made lunch, let's go."

"Bu-" She was about to protest still in shock.

"C'mon, Becca. Let's go." He ordered interrupted.

"You're so bossy, John-John." She frowned, grabbing his hand as he pulled her up, she looked down at the hand that she was holding and yanked it away as she blushed, she was still disgusted by the new piece of information she had learned.

"Someone has to be." He proudly stood, wondering slightly why her cheeks had turned rosy but his mind soon wandered to the thought of a nice slice of chicken pie his mom had been cooking in the early hours of the morning. "You coming or not?"

"Okay." She bit her lip. "But I haven't been in your house before."

"So." He shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

Rebecca studied the house before they made their way in, the grass was mown and the house looked like it had been coated in a fresh coat of paint, she had been surprised Junior Merrill had always been described as a bum and she always figured that the house would a tip, especially since it was in the outskirts of the town, she took slow and wearily steps up the garden before John opened the front door and walked in, he gave her a look telling her to come in.

The smell of home cooked food lingered through the house and both kids stomachs grumbled in response, John grabbed her by the arm and showed her the way to the kitchen, where Valerie Merrill was stood at the sink peeling fresh potatoes, she was humming along to a song that had been stuck in her head all day.

"Hi, Mom." John greeted his mother as he rushed over to her and gave her a hug from behind, Rebecca stood there quietly not wanting to move, she was taken by surprise by John's affection to his mother, he always spoke about his father and brother that she figured he hated her just as much too.

"John." She turned round and smiled, she was a plain looking lady but her smile could light up a whole room, "How was your day?" She asked her son, giving him a peck on his cheek.

Rebecca didn't know what John replied because she had been so distracted by the smile he was giving his mother, he had inherited the same smile. She could feel the love and adoration beam out of his mouth and she frowned slightly she wondered why he never smiled like that around anyone but his mother.

Rebecca sat at the table quietly and shyly eating the food, Valerie Merrill had kindly given to her. She jumped when the front door slammed shut and John's head shot up.

"Andrew?" Valerie's voice called out.

"Yeah?" Came a reply from the hall and footsteps coming towards them were heard.

A shiver went down Rebecca's body as she saw a fifteen year old Andrew Merrill walk into the kitchen, he had a cold presence about him and it made her feel uneasy.

There was a knock at the front door and Valerie Merrill walked out the room to answer it.

Andrew smirked as he sat down and snatched the plate right from under his brothers nose.

"Hey!" John protested.

"Thanks, Johnny." Andrew grinned as he dug himself in. "Who's your little friend?" He taunted not exactly caring who she was.

"Rebecca Chambers." John replied.

"Oh yeah." Andrew replied. "You look like a Chambers." He commented a slight look of disgust and she shot him a glare. "Heard your Pa got the sack from the lumber-yard." John looked at Rebecca, she hadn't told them that. "New baby in the house, that must be pretty tough? Living on no pay slip, thing's must be real tight."

Rebecca was about to storm out when Valerie walked in with Judy Chambers beside her.

"It's time to leave, Becca." He mother told her, her baby brother Chris in her arms. "I need you in the house to look after little Christopher." And as Rebecca got up from her seat her mother placed the baby in her arms.

Judy Chambers had managed to get herself a job at a local bar, she would be working a lot and she needed an extra pair of hands round the house and to help out with the baby and as they walked home, Rebecca was told that she didn't have time to play with silly little boys.


	5. Animal I Will Become

_***December**_**_ 1951_***

"Happy Birthday, John-John." Rebecca beamed as she joined him at his front porch, he put the book he was reading to the ground as she gave him a small peck on the cheek, he pushed her away and rubbed the touch of her lips off his cheek. "What's wrong?" She asked as she noticed his posture was different then usual.

"Nothing." He spat out and she looked to the floor, they sat there in an awkward silence until she spoke.

"What you reading?" She asked curiously looking at the book that laid on the ground.

"A book." Was all he replied and she frowned at him.

"If you're going to be like this, I might as well go home." She huffed. "I don't want to though. My dads been kinda mean lately, he's been drinking more. I was supposed to be looking after Christopher so my dad could go to the liquor store but Chris escaped down the road, Mrs. Crocket found him eating trash out of a trash-can and I got a hiding, my momma won't speak to me, I hate him, John-John. Everyone treats me like I'm not there it's all about little Christopher," Her body shrank as he gave her an understanding look. "I'm not supposed to be here." She sighed dramatically.

"Then why are you?" He asked her as he picked up the book and proceeded to read.

"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday." She smiled slightly and brought a paper bag out of her pocket. "Here."

She placed the bag of candy in his hands. He opened it up and placed one in his mouth. "Where'd you get these?"

"They were for Chris, since he's just a toddler he won't even notice." She smirked as she took a hard-boiled candy out of the bag and put one in her mouth sucking on it. "So what do you want to do, John-John?"

"I dunno." He shrugged, half of his attention was to the book he was reading but his head shot up when he heard.

_"You were with that little slut? Weren't you?"_

Rebecca had heard it coming from the house too. She flinched at the harsh words coming from Valerie Merrill's mouth, she inquisitively leaned her head to hear more.

_"Maybe if you paid attention to your husband and not that little runt all the time, we wouldn't be in this mess."_

_"Don't you dare speak about your son like that, you old drunk."_

The two kids jumped at the sound of a crash coming from the living room and John leaped up and ran into the house, he had to protect his mother from the monster. Rebecca was scared she didn't know what was going on, the silence was deafening, she contemplated going in there but it really wasn't her place to do so. It seemed like forever until John ran back out, his left eye was swollen and she let out a shocked breath as he grabbed her arm and they ran, she didn't know where they were running too but she followed him and kept the pace. They soon stopped and found themselves on the bridge leading away from Castle Rock.

"You need something cold, to keep the swelling down." She told him as he sat himself onto the railing. "Franky's been in a lot of fights, I always sit and watch my dad fix his face up." She answered the question he was thinking. "I'll go to the diner and ask for some ice, I'll tell them an old lady fell or something." She ran off leaving him alone on the bridge.

She returned shortly afterwards with melting ice wrapped in a cloth, she placed it on his eye, he didn't flinch and she wondered if he was used to this kind of thing.

They sat on the railings together in a peaceful silence, she watched him as he stared into the distance, she could usually tell what he was thinking but not this time.

He broke the silence first, "I hate him so much." She couldn't tell if it was the coldness in the winter air that made his eyes look like they were watering or if it was the emotions going through his body. "Happy Fucking Birthday, Johhny. Here have a knuckle sandwich, you filthy animal." He punched the air, his teeth gritting together.

She shivered at the language he had used, she had never heard him swear before, he sounded strange. She placed a hand on his tensed shoulder and he spat in the water. "It's okay, John-John."

"It's not." He spun round off the railing and jumped onto the concrete. "I hate the asshole, so much that I wish he was dead, maybe one day when he drinks and drives he'll drive off this bridge."

"Don't say that, he's your father." Rebecca warned him. "They say you go to hell if you say stuff like that, you don't want to go to hell do you?" She repeated what she had been told in Sunday school.

"What if I'm in it?" He told her and she gulped looking at him as he watched the water from the river. "I won't be able to control myself when I'm older, Rebecca. I'll snap."

"You won't."

"How do you know? After all I am an animal and I can't be tamed." He repeated what his father had been telling him for years. "I don't want to be like him, Becca. I don't want to be mean."


	6. The First Cigarette Is Always The Worst

***January 1952***

Rebecca ran up to her school friend Cassie, joining her as they walked home from school. The two talked about what they were going to do over the weekend.

"Are you going to see, John?" Cassie asked as she kicked her feet along the ground and they walked at a slow pace.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him much. I been busy at home with Christopher." She sighed, bitterly saying her five year old brother's name. "I haven't seen him in a month."

"Did you hear about his mom?" She asked and Rebecca stopped dead on her feet and pulled Cassie's arm so she faced her.

"No." She looked at her friend a questionable frown on her face.

"She left." Cassie told her. "Last week. It's the talk of the town." Rebecca's eyes widened as the words went through her ears, she had no idea. Before Cassie could tell her any more she shoved her school bag in her friends arms and ran. "Where you going?" She heard Cassie yell but she didn't answer back.

She had to find him, be there for him. She arrived at his house and the sight of the house was a very different picture from the last time she had set her sights on it, beer bottles and litter were sprawled across the grass. She knocked on the door and a nineteen year old Andrew Merrill opened the door.

"What do you want?" He unkindly greeted.

"Is John there?" She asked just as unkindly, he shook his head and smirked.

"Don't know where that runt went off too, probably with the rest of the trash in this town," He scoffed. "Try the local dump." He added slamming the door in her face and she decided then and there that she hated him just as much as she hated her own brothers.

There was only one place she knew he could be, she arrived there just as fast as she arrived at his house, she crawled under the thorn bush not caring that she had scratched her knees on the gravel.

He was there, leaning up against a tree, his mind in another place. She frowned curiously as she noticed smoke coming out from his nostrils and her eyes reacted in shock, he was smoking.

"What are you doing?" She marched over to him, if someone had caught him smoking he would have been in a hell of a lot of trouble.

He smirked coolly, a smirk she had never seen before but one that she would see for years to come, he held out the cigarette to her face and she moved her head away from it.

"Go on, try it." He told her and she shook her head, if her mother smelt the cigarette on her breath she would have been cursed till the day she died. "You never smoked before?" He asked, he didn't sound like himself.

"You know I haven't, John-John. And you haven't either." She answered trying to snatch the cigarette out of his hand but he put it back in his mouth. "Where did you get it?" She asked.

"From my brother, he shoved it in my hand and told me it would solve all my problems." He simply stated, she wanted to ask him about his mother but he didn't look like he was in the mood and she didn't want to upset him, she knew how he felt about his mother. "Try it."

"I said no." She shook her head again.

"C'mon, Becca." He looked at her. "Do it." He pressured her, she reluctantly held out her hand, her fingers taking the cigarette from his, she gulped and gave him one last look, his eyebrows raised as if saying for her to do it and she gave into the peer pressure as she placed it on her pink lips and sucked at it, the smoke went down her throat and she pulled a face, her body not liking the new sensation made her cough it out and she began to have a coughing fit. He laughed in response.

And she shot him a glare in between coughs, she pushed the cigarette back into his hands. "I never want to do that again." She complained as her complexion turned a shade of green and it took every power in her body to stop herself from heaving. "I feel sick."

"Ah stop complaining," He grinned as he puffed away and finished the first cigarette that they had ever tried, it wouldn't be the last. "What you doing here anyway?"

"I'm here for you," She told him, meaning it in more ways then one. "I heard about your mom."

"Oh." Was all he replied and then he threw the cigarette butt to the grass angrily. "That slut." He spat out and she flinched, she didn't like the new language he was using.

"John? That's your mother you're talking about," Rebecca warned him. "Where did she go? She'll come back."

"No she won't." He angrily told her.

"She will." She told him trying to cheer him up.

"No. She. Won't." He yelled, it was the first time she had heard his voice so raised.

"But-" She uttered.

"Drop it, Rebecca. I said she's gone, leave it." He spat, but she was stubborn and curious.

"I'm jus-" She tried to tell him, his face glared at her and he stepped towards her.

"She's dead to me and you are too if you ever mention her again." His face was now right up close to hers, she could see the rage building up in his icy blue eyes and she began to let out a small scared cry, her breathing getting heavy. "Stop being such a baby." He pushed her and she stumbled back.

She ran off before he even had time to apologise.


	7. Gone Johnny Gone

_***April 1953***_

The past year had been a tough one for Rebecca, she had turned twelve in November and she wasn't a baby any more, John had become a teenager in December, and ever since his mother had walked out, he had become distant, they would still see each other often but a part of him was missing.

He was angry and anything could set him off.

They were currently in his bedroom, Rebecca was doing her homework, while Ace was reading a book.

"So have you thought about what courses you're going to take?" Rebecca asked, she put the pencil, that she had been doodling with on the paper, down and looked at John, his eyes never leaving 'The Wild West'.

He shrugged.

"C'mon, John-John, you have to at least think about it," Rebecca raised her eyebrows at him.

"I have," He told her, finally putting the book down and bringing out a cigarette from behind his ear, he lit it.

"And?" She asked.

"Wood shop," He replied, breathing out the smoke. Her eyes grew wide.

"But you're smarter then _that_," She told him.

"So?"

"John, you really want to spend the rest of your life stuck in a deadbeat shop class?" She frowned. "You need to take a literature class or something."

"Jesus Christ! Becca, you're starting to sound like my Grandmother." He glared at her and she leaned back. "I'm not taking the classes with those dorks."

"But-" She shook her head and then stopped. "You're really smart, John-John. You could really be something, you're not like me, you could actually go to college and have a life. You don't wanna be like the rest of us retards, stuck in shop."

"Listen, Rebecca. I ain't in the mood to get a life lesson from you alright, now here take a drag." He shoved the cigarette in her face.

"Oh, alright." She huffed, snatching the cigarette out of his hands and puffing on it.

"Jesus, you really don't know how to smoke do you?" He questioned. "Here, let me show you." He took the cigarette out of her fingers and put it to his lips, he took a drag and then puffed out a perfect 'O'.

"Wow." Rebecca smirked. "Where did you learn that?"

"I taught myself."

They sat there in silence for ten minutes, John teaching Rebecca his trick, afterwards he grabbed his book and began to read again.

_"Why do you read that stuff?"_

* * *

**_*Three Days Later*_**

_"Not any more. Leave me alone John, I never want to see your ugly face again." He heard her slam something down, the words had came out with such hatred and it had taken him aback and it had hurt._

_"Fine." He spat, he wasn't going to beg for her forgiveness ever again_

_"Fine!"_

He stormed out of her back-yard, what was the big deal? It had been an accident he hadn't meant for her to fall, he was starting to believe what his brother was telling him, that girls weren't worth the hassle.

He walked all the way to the fishing bridge and leaned himself up on it, it wasn't till then that he noticed he wasn't alone, he took out a pack of smokes and lit one, the boy who had been watching him smirked as he walked over to him.

"Who are you?" John asked, coolly.

"Jack Mudgett." The boy stood proud. "You're the boy who hangs around with Rebecca Chambers aren't you? John Merrill?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out." John smirked.

"Cool," Jack grinned, running a hand through his jet black hair. "Rebecca's in my class, I sit next to her in Math."

"Interesting." John sarcastically answered.

"You wanna fish?" Jack asked, pointing towards his fishing rod.

"Nah fishing's for pussies," John proclaimed. "Let's do something, that will get you in trouble with your folks." He grinned, an evil glint in his eyes.

"What about your folks?"

"My old man couldn't give a rats ass about me," John told him, getting off the railing he had perched himself on, Jack stood there and watched him walk away, in hope that he would become friends with this 'cool' boy. "C'mon let's go, I ain't got all fucking day."

* * *

Rebecca sighed as she looked out the bedroom of her window, she had been stuck babysitting Chris, she wouldn't like to admit it but she had cried over John Merrill too many times that night, he had hurt her, hurt her bad.

"Rebecca, I'm hungry!" Her six year old brother complained, interrupting her thoughts on a certain boy.

"So?" She rolled her eyes, laying back down on her bed.

"Momma said you'd make me lunch,"

"She also said that she loves me." Rebecca retorted, he looked at her questionably, not understanding what she had meant, she looked at him before answering. "Grown ups lie, Christopher."

"But, I'm hungry." Chris stomped his feet on the ground.

She growled before answering back. "Fine! We'll go to the diner! But I'm using _your _birthday money to buy me lunch."

A big gleeful smile came from Chris as he hurried to his room to get his money.

"Do you really have to hold my hand?" She asked Chris as they walked down the street.

"Yeah," He laughed as he kicked his feet about, messing around.

"Stop it." She spat at him and he listened, they were half-way down the street when Rebecca noticed John across the road, she frowned as she noticed who he was with, Jack Mudgett, the boy in her class who always picked on her. She gulped as she dragged herself and Christopher across the road, marching towards them.

"What are you doing with _him_?" She questioned John, who stood there with a grin.

"Hi, Becca." Jack greeted.

"Shut up, zit-face." Rebecca glared at him before turning her attention back to John, he smirked at her use of words. She let go of Chris' arm and pulled John away from them.

"What's the problem?" He asked.

"Why are you hanging around with Jack Mudgett?" She questioned, "I don't like him, he picks on me."

"I thought you weren't speaking to me?" John questioned.

She stuttered before answering. "Well, I..I..I am."

"Calm down, Becca." John told her.

"But John-John.."

"That's not my name any more." John smugly grinned. "It's Ace."

"Ace?" She questioned.

"Yeah and that's," He pointed towards Jack, who in return grinned. "Mudge."

She frowned at him even more. "That's stupid, John."

"John's gone." He told her, lighting up a cigarette.

"But-" She began again and then she noticed Chris was nowhere to be seen. "CHRISTOPHER?" She yelled, before letting out an angry sigh as she noticed him across the road searching through a dustbin.

She stormed over to him, her hair blowing in the wind as she reached him, her face red with rage.

"What the chick want, Ace?" Jack asked, he was now standing next to John.

"Nothing," John spat the cigarette he had in his mouth to the floor. "And if you ever pick on her again, I'll kill you." He shoved Jack to the floor.

Seeing the look in Ace's eyes, Jack didn't hesitate in believing him.


	8. I Got You, Babe

_***December 1953***_

"Urgh, why does this have to be so hard?" Rebecca asked her friend Cassie, she frustratedly ran her fingers through her curls, the two were sat in the library in school, studying for the big Math test that was about to take place.

"It's not _that_ hard!" Cassie grinned, putting her pencil down, Rebecca shot her a glare.

"Easy for some," She muttered, her head telling her to keep studying.

"Have you seen the new girl. Tess?" Cassie asked her. "She's been hanging around with _Ace _lately."

"Oh." Was all Rebecca responded, she thought long and hard before uttering. "So? John can hang around with whoever he pleases, he's not my problem any more."

Her and John, hadn't spoke in months.

"Really?" Cassie raised her eyebrows. "'Cause I think he is."

"Well what do you know?" Rebecca spat.

"Much more then you know about Math, that's for sure." Cassie insulted, a coy smile on her lips.

"Whatever!" Rebecca shot at her. She then proceeded to grab her Math paper and she scrunched it up into a ball, she threw it at the dustbin and dramatically stormed off. Cassie rolled her eyes, Rebecca was definitely a dramatic girl.

Rebecca didn't know where she was going, but she had to get out of that study class and out of that school. She couldn't care less if she got caught for cutting class.

As she stormed down the corridor, she accidentally bumped into Billy Tessio and Charlie Hogan.

"Watch it!" An annoyed Billy told her, he looked her up and down. "Hey. You're that Chambers chick."

"Yeah, what's it to you?" She frowned.

"I'm Billy and this is Charlie," He introduced himself and a shy Charlie Hogan, who was standing beside a locker.

"Yeah, I know who you are," Rebecca replied and then gave her attention to Charlie. "Hey, Charlie." She greeted, the two shared the same class.

"So what you doing?" Billy questioned, before Charlie could reply.

"Getting out of here." Rebecca sighed. "Wanna come?" She questioned, she knew Billy hung around with John and Jack Mudgett and knew he was a right troublemaker in school.

"Sure," Billy grinned. "The other guys are out having a smoke at the back, should we go there?"

"Okay." She smirked, she was in need of a cigarette. "But first I gotta go to the ladies room." She told the two boys, who looked at her strangely. Once she arrived at the little girls room, she eyed herself in the mirror before pulling out a tube of lipstick she had stolen from her moms purse, she applied some to her lips. Tess Gearing acted like a grown-up and if Rebecca was to be seen, she had to too.

The three walked out of the gates, not caring if they were caught.

Ace Merrill was leaning up against the wall when he noticed Rebecca walking over to them, he took in the last puff of his cigarette before throwing it at Jack Mudgett, it landed on his shirt and burned a hole right through it.

"Ouch! Why you do that for?" Jack frowned, he was in the middle of trying to impress Tess Gearing but she had been too busy looking at Vince Desjardins to notice.

"Because you deserved it." Ace smirked.

"Hey, there's Becca, what she doing with Hogan?" Jack noticed after he had wiped off the ash from his shirt. "Has she got make-up on? Boy, she sure looks purdy." Jack's eyes bulged out of their sockets, "I'll be thinking about her tonight, if you know what I mean." He grinned but then he was met with a punch to the chest.

"Speak about her like that again and I'll do more than chuck a cigarette at you, Mudge." Ace threatened as the three came closer to them.

"Hey, Ace." Billy greeted. "Mind if I bum a smoke?"

"Hi, John." Rebecca grinned as she sat herself up on the wall and watched Ace take one of Jack's cigarettes from his pocket and offer one to Billy.

"Hey those are mine! Give him own of your own." Jack whined, it had been his last one.

"What's yours is mine, Asshole." Ace smirked as he looked Rebecca in the eyes, she didn't know if he was talking to Jack or to her.

"So what's she doing here?" Fuzzy asked, his attention from the comic he was reading going to Rebecca. "Shouldn't you be in class with that nerdy Cassie girl."

"Cassie Saunders, isn't a nerd. You wet-end." Rebecca glared, sticking up for her best friend, she kinda wished she was here. "What you done to your hair, John?" She asked, it was longer then usual and had been slicked back with grease.

"It's Ace."

"What you done to your hair, _Ace?_" She repeated a slight smile on her lips.

"Combed it." Ace stated as the boys reacted in fits of laughter.

"Hardy-fucking-Ha." Rebecca swore, all the boys, except Ace, looked at her in wonderment, it wasn't often girls swore around them. "What? Never heard a lady swear, gentlemen?" Rebecca asked, her eyebrows raised, they all shrugged and looked to the floor.

"I don't see a lady." Ace insulted, playfully. She stuck her tongue out at him as she took the cigarette out of Billy's hand and proceeded to smoke it, her and Ace's eye-contact never faltering.

"So what shall we do, man?" Billy asked Ace, as Rebecca handed over the cigarette back to him, she could never finish one, no matter how hard she tried.

"What about that carnival? That's in town." Tess, who had been quite the whole time, butted in.

They all grinned as ideas sprung in their heads.

"Good thinking, Tess." Vince grinned.

"Let's go," Ace commanded and they all got up to leave. "You coming or what, Chambers?" He asked noticing Rebecca hadn't moved from her spot.

"I dunno, I gotta study for the Math test..." She hesitatingly replied.

"Yeah..You're gonna fail." Jack butted in and she wanted to punch him square in the gut. "You're gonna get held back."

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you sh-"

"Okay, Assholes. We got it." Ace barked, shutting the two of them up instantly. He raised his eyebrows at Rebecca. "Come on, we ain't got all day."

"Oh..alright." Rebecca sighed, knowing that if she didn't study she would be held back, but it had been a long time since her and John had hung out and she missed him. "But let me just get Cassie first." She ran off in the direction of the school library and Tess followed her, deciding that she wanted to be friends with this strange Chambers chick.

"I don't know who I like more. Tess or Rebecca. Tess has the tits but Rebecca has the lips." Jack smirked.

"Like they're interested in you, Zit-face." Billy shot at him.

"Any of you guys touch Rebecca, you'll have me to answer for." Ace spat at them as he walked to his bike.

They all gulped.

"C'mon, before Burtie catches us. I really don't feel like beating the old fart up." Ace ordered, talking about Mr. Halliburton the school truant officer.

* * *

_***One Week Later***_

Jack and Ace were at Ace's house in his back-yard, it was a Saturday so there was no school, they had just finished giving each other new hairstyles. Ace had just bleached his hair, he looked himself in the mirror and a smug look plastered his face. The two would look the toughest in school.

"Ahh, Man. Too cool." Jack smirked as he had just greased his hair into a pompadour.

"I am." Ace cockily smirked. "So how'd your test go? If I remember it wasn't that hard."

"I found it easy," Jack lit a cigarette, still admiring his hair. "But Rebecca didn't." Ace's attention was taken away from himself as he looked at Jack.

"What do you mean, Mudge?" Ace asked, as he too lit himself a cigarette.

"She stormed out half-way through it, I don't even think she completed the thing. She definitely flunked it, won't be surprised if she gets held back." Jack told him.

Ace shot up from the stool he was sitting on and grabbed his brothers switch-blade, Andrew had forgotten to take with him, when he got hauled into juvie and Ace didn't hesitate in taking it. He started walking towards his bike as he motioned Jack to follow.

"Where we going, Ace?"

"You'll see." Ace replied, stepping on his bike. "I can't wait till I can drive a fucking car." He muttered before he cycled off and Jack followed.

They soon arrived at the locked school gates. Ace jumped over it with such ease, Jack wondered if he had been doing this all his life. Ace smirked as he watched Jack stumble over and rip his t-shirt on the gate.

"Ah, fuck. My mommas gonna kill me, two shirts in one week!"

"Quit your yapping, you'll get us caught." Ace spat, as he placed a toothpick in his mouth, the two walked over to the school office.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Jack asked, looking over his shoulder, the coast was clear, he then watched as Ace took out the switch-blade, flicked it open and started to pick at the lock, the door opened with ease.

He walked over to Mrs. Ewings desk and opened the draw, he then brought out a bunch of test papers and flicked through them until he found the one under '_Chambers. Rebecca_.', his eyes scanned the paper as he read her answers, Jack was right, she hadn't completed it, and she was bound to get a failure.

He grabbed a pencil from the desk and started to fill in the missing answers.

"Jesus, Ace. If you get caught," Jack shook his head, amazed by what Ace was doing for some girl. "You'll be expelled."

"Rather be expelled then for her to flunk school." Ace calmly told his friend as he put the paper back. "Tell anyone about this and I'll let everyone know about your little tendency to piss the bed."

* * *

_***January 1954***_

"I passed," A happy Rebecca Chambers squealed as she rushed over to the bridge and joined Ace, he looked up from the fishing rod he had in his hands. "I don't know how though, but I did it! I didn't think I answered all the questions but I must have!" She shoved her Math test paper in his face.

"Big fucking deal." Ace replied, as his eyes scanned the letter 'C' on the piece of paper, secretly smug at the grade he had helped her get, he had gotten a 'B' in it before but he couldn't make it obvious.

She frowned at him. "Jesus. _Ace_! What crawled up your ass?" She asked the fifteen year old.

"Nothin'." He replied, gripping the fishing rod tightly.

"C'mon, John-John. Let's sneak into the drive-in, I wanna see From Here to Eternity!" She pleaded, he sighed as he nodded his head as he place the fishing rod against the railing and they went on their way.

"It's Ace."

The two were currently perched on the wall watching the movie, Rebecca's eyes widened as they watched the two leads kiss, she had never seen anything like that before and she knew she would have been in a lot of trouble if anyone had found them watching something like this.

Ace chuckled as he watched her mouth fall to the floor.

"What? Never seen anyone kiss before?" He asked.

"I have!"

"Have not!" The annoying old John had come out in his voice.

"Have too!" She huffed, folding her arms straight away and kicking her buckled shoes against the wall. "My parents."

"That doesn't count." He grinned. "I bet you haven't even kissed a boy!"

"So! Have you kissed a girl?" She curiously asked, her head tilted.

"Yeah, loads a times." He proudly showed off and then shrugged and she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What's it like?"

He didn't answer, he kept his eyes on the movie screen.

"C'mon, John-John. What's it like?" She pleaded with him, she was curious to know, she wondered if it was like what she had just seen in the movie.

"It's hard to explain." He shrugged before mumbling. "My name's Ace."

"Well then show me," She raised her eyebrows.

"Huh?" His mouth dropped to the floor. "I ain't kissing you."

"Why not?" She scowled. "C'mon, John-John. I mean _Ace_..." She closed her eyes and her lips pouted, a slight cheeky grin underneath the pout, he stared at her face, he couldn't admit to it but this was what he had wanted in a long time and she was offering it to him on her own free will, he had to play it cool.

"Fine." He sighed before leaning towards her, his hands gripped the sides of the wall as he closed his eyes and for the first time their lips met...

An overwhelming feeling took over Rebecca's body and as their lips touched, awkwardly, she opened her eyes wide, he had his closed, she wondered what he was thinking but before she could even ask, they were interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Hey, what are you kids, doing up there? Get down this instant." Mrs. Dames, the ticket officer, called out to them. "You're both too young for this movie, you won't understand, you'll have to grow." They heard her tell them, Rebecca didn't know what the hell she was talking about, all she knew was that she was in a heap of trouble.

Her body froze, she let out a scream when Ace grabbed her and pulled her off the wall, helping her, their feet hitting the ground as they ran for their lives, his hands never letting go of hers, knowing Mrs. Dames would be on their trail, as soon as the coast was clear they stopped and caught their breaths, Rebecca started to laugh but she soon stopped when she remembered what they had last been doing, a blush took over her cheeks.

"I-" Ace began. "I gotta go." She watched as he ran off. It wasn't like John to stutter or run off for that matter.

She found him shortly after, he was at the field where they had first met, he was currently laying on the grass, she joined him.

They laid there in silence.

"You're always helping me, John." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" He shot up defensively, hoping Jack hadn't mentioned anything, he would have to hurt him.

"Back there, you helped me off the wall. Dames would have caught me." She smiled slightly at him. "You'll always be around to catch me, won't you?"

"Sure thing," He shrugged, his heart pounding in his chest, but he wouldn't show it.

"I got you." She blushed as she grabbed his hand. "And you got me."


	9. Stepping onto the Field

_***July 1958***_

"Hey, Rebecca." Cassie greeted her friend as she walked into the Blue Point Diner, where they spent most of their weekends.

"Hi." Rebecca glumly greeted back.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked, noticing Rebecca wasn't her usual self, she was usually moody but she never really looked sad.

"It's nothing." She replied back, pushing her plate to the side. "What's in the bag?" She asked, noticing Cassie was holding a paper bag.

"Oh, it's my prom dress." Cassie smiled, seating herself next to Rebecca.

"You got asked to Senior Prom?" Rebecca asked, staring at the pink dress Cassie had just pulled out. "Who asked you?" She frowned, envy building inside her.

"Norman," Cassie grinned. "Or should I call him Fuzzy now? Damn Cobras!" She swore.

Rebecca scoffed, most of the boys had stupid nicknames. Rebecca wondered why Fuzzy had asked her, he always called her a dork and she didn't think he liked her that much, she would never understand boys, that was for sure. She sighed as she placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands.

"Cheer up, Becca." Cassie grinned. "I have a feeling someone is going to ask you..."

"Who?" Rebecca frowned. "It better not be Vince."

"Nah, he's asked Tess obviously." Cassie grinned, Tess and Vince had become inseparable.

_Great! They all have dates and I'm stuck at home with my brothers and sister! _Rebecca thought to herself.

"Well then who is it?" She asked, hoping it was a certain young man with bleached blonde hair.

"I'm not telling, I promised I wouldn't." Cassie grinned. "He came over to me in the library, as you know I like to study, he told me he was thinking of asking you."

"He did?" Rebecca leaned back, that didn't seem like Ace.

"Yeah, he strolled over and said 'You better tell me, Chambers, hasn't been asked to senior prom.'." Cassie tried her best at a male voice, she didn't sound anything like him but it was something he would have said. "Think he would have pulled out his knife on me if I told him you did." There was no doubt about it, it had to be Ace.

Suddenly an idea came into her head, she had to find him, maybe if she found him he would ask her.

"Have you seen Ace's new ride?" Tess, who had just walked into the diner not bothering to say hello, told them, as she sat herself in front of Rebecca and Cassie. "It sure looks like fun to ride in." She winked at Rebecca, who in return gave her an unimpressed look, though her heart was beating fast.

"You're sick." Cassie laughed.

"Hey, look at you an Fuzz-Ball, you've already gone to second base." Tess scoffed, she turned to Rebecca. "What base you on with Ace Merrill, Chambers?"

"I haven't even stepped on to the field." Rebecca grunted as she took some money out of her purse and placed it on the table. "See you girls later."

"Where is she off to?" Tess asked, watching Rebecca storm out of the diner, Cassie gave her a shrug and they chatted amongst themselves about what hairstyle they would style their hair at the big dance.

* * *

Ace Merrill sat in the back seat of his car, one arm round Gracie Black's slim shoulder, the other smoking a cigarette.

"C'mon, Gracie." Ace grinned. "You know you want to."

"I really don't think we should be doing this, my dad might catch us," She sighed, looking around her shoulder, her dad owned the chemist they were parked behind. "He knows all about your little gang and he told me to stay away." She looked into Ace's eyes and she knew she wouldn't be able to say no.

"Come on, for me.."

"Oh alright." She grinned as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

* * *

Rebecca soon found Ace's new car, parked at the back of the local chemist, she looked at the shiny black painted car and smirked, it sure suited Ace, the cars hood was down and she could see his blonde hair sticking out from the back-seat.

It was then she realised he was not alone. He was with her. Gracie Black, the prettiest senior in school. She saw him lean in and kiss her and that's when her heart shattered into pieces, he was about to have a make-out session with her in the back-seat of his car, she ran off before she could watch.

Tears fell out of her eyes and she vowed to herself she would never let him see her cry. This had all been one giant stitch up and she was the butt of the joke, he hadn't wanted to ask her to the dance, he wanted to get her hopes up and them embarrass her in front of the entire school.

The tears shielded her eyes and she couldn't see where she was walking, she didn't see Jamie Gallant standing right there as she bumped right into him.

"Hey, Rebecca." He smiled, she frowned at him, apart from Ace he was the toughest guy at school, him and Ace despised each other, they both were in two different gangs.

The Cobras had been founded a year ago, when Ace had gotten into a scuffle with Jamie by the school gates, they had challenged each other for a fight with their friends and that's when Ace decided it was for the best to create a gang that would scare people off, create a name for himself.

Jamie was the leader of The Copperheads, both gangs would tell you that they had come up with the snake names and the others had stolen the idea, nobody knew who was telling the truth.

Rebecca shifted uncomfortably as she wiped the tears from under her eyes, she knew Jamie was bad news and since she hung around with The Cobras, she was their property.

"Hi." She greeted him, folding her arms, if someone had seen her with him there would be a riot.

He smirked. "So I asked that Saunders nerd, if you had a date for the Senior Prom," He began but she cut him off.

"Wait? That was you?" Her heart sank, she then realised she had been stupid to think Ace would have asked her.

"Yeah," He smugly grinned as he took out a cigarette from behind his right ear and then offered her the one that was behind his left, he ran a hand through his combed brown hair, she could tell he really wanted to be just like Elvis. "So? What do you say, Chambers?" He grinned as he watched her squirm. "Or are you to busy trying to get Merrill? That won't work, you know? News is he's after Gracie Black."

She glared at him and then the thought of Gracie Black spreading her legs in the back of Ace's Ford flashed into her head.

"So what's your answer?" He raised his bushy eyebrows at her.

"Sure." She blew out the smoke from the cigarette and it formed a perfect 'O'. _What harm could it do?_ She told herself, as she thought of all The Cobras reactions, they wouldn't be laughing at her any more, that was for sure. A grin formed her full lips as her perfectly polished index finger and thumb gripped the end of the cigarette and she threw it to the ground and coolly stubbed it out with her shoe.

And she gracefully walked away from Jamie Gallant, as he stared at her backside.

She couldn't care less about Ace Merrill any more, all she cared about was finding a dress that when she turned up to the senior dance, it would rock the whole school.

* * *

"Oh alright." Gracie grinned as Ace gave her a peck on the cheek. She then pushed him off. "Why do you want to ask her for anyway? And why you getting me to soften her up? Me and Rebecca Chambers don't exactly see eye to eye."

Ace shrugged. "She'll listen to you, Black. If I do it she'll think I'm playing a game."

"Aren't you?" Gracie questioned, knowing what Ace Merrill was really like.

"No." Ace spat. "Just ask her, dammit."

"Okay, fine. You really must love this chick," Gracie smirked, hoping one day she would find a guy who felt like that about her.

"I don't love her." Ace shrugged.

"Okay, whatever." Gracie laughed as she got out of the car. "Don't worry, Acey," She blew him a kiss. "The princess will go to the ball." She winked and he watched her skip away, she was way too care-free for his tastes.

"What a fuckin' weirdo, man." Ace said to himself as he jumped over the back seat and into the drivers seat, unaware of the current situation Rebecca Chambers was in.

* * *

***Two days later***

"What do you want, Gracie?" Rebecca gave Gracie Black an unfriendly welcome as she opened her front door to the brown haired beauty.

"Just wondering if you have a date for the senior prom?" Gracie replied, before wiping her lip-glossed lips.

Rebecca sighed, if Gracie Black really wanted to annoy her about not being asked to prom by Ace, she was doing a fine job. "I do, actually." Rebecca smugly stood proud, she wouldn't tell her who though, she'd let them all find out on prom night.

"Oh." Was all that came out of Gracie's mouth, before she turned on her heels and strutted off, Ace wasn't going to be too pleased.

"Was that it?" Rebecca called out to her, but Gracie was gone by the time her words sprung out. She rolled her eyes before shutting the front door, she turned and stepped on a toy car. "Christopher! Will you tell Emery to stop leaving his goddamn toys all over the place." She roared out.

"You tell him." Came Chris' response. "I'm feeding Debbie."

"Whatever." She called back, her father too passed out on the couch to hear the commotion. "This place is a tip." She whined to herself before kicking the toys away to the corner of the room.

* * *

"Hey, Ace. So who did you ask to the prom? Was it Gracie Black?" Jack questioned, the two sat in the Merrill's back yard. Ace was carving something on a piece of wood, a toothpick perched in his mouth.

"In good time, Mudge." Ace replied, his eyes never leaving the knife. They were interrupted by Charlie and Billy, who had just ran straight into the field. "What is it?" Ace asked noticing they both were in distress and out of breath.

"Fuzzy and Vince are in a fight with The Copperheads!" Billy breathed out.

"Up at the creek, they ambushed us, man." Charlie piped in, he had a black eye.

"Fuck sake, can you pussies not look after yourselves?"Ace sighed before flicking his blade back and placing it in the pocket of his shirt. "Why is it always me that has to come to your fucking rescue?" He swore before getting into his '52 Ford, the three other boys followed.

They soon arrived at the creek, where Vince and Fuzzy were being pinned down by four young men, they all were Senior's and in Ace's year.

"Well well well, what's going on here?" Ace toyed with them, two of them grabbed Vince and Fuzzy by the scruff of their necks and pulled them up off the floor and let their grips go, soon after Fuzzy and Vince rushed to Ace's side.

"I don't want no trouble, Merrill. But these boys had to be put in their place." Jamie Gallant stepped out from behind a tree.

Ace smirked and held his head up high.

"You should have heard the shit he was spouting, man." Vince spat out.

"Watch your mouth, Desjardins." Jamie glared. "You weren't so tough when I pinned you to the ground earlier."

"You love pinning people to the ground don't you, Gallant?" Ace stated as the two had a stare off. No one knew what he had meant, apart from him and Jamie, six months ago Jamie Gallant had attacked Mrs. Ewings the head of Math one day during afternoon detention, Ace had been in that detention class, though the news never broke into town. Mrs. Ewings was a proud woman and she would never show that he had gotten to her, she warned Ace that if he had spread gossip, he would join Jamie in afternoon detention for the rest of the school year.

Jamie gulped, knowing that if the news broke out he would have a lot to answer for.

"What's he talking about?" Jack asked Billy and he replied with a shrug.

"Now you assholes have got the count of three to scram." Ace warned them and then took out his blade. "Or else.." He pointed the shiny knife at Jamie, who then motioned for the rest of his cronies to leave.

He smirked at Ace before pushing past his shoulders. "See you in prom, Merrill." He smugly told him.

"Asshole." Vince breathed.

"What was he saying?" Jack asked him, watching as Ace got back into his car.

"Just some lies about the girls that's all." Vince shrugged, whatever he was saying couldn't be true.


	10. I'm Just The Jealous Kind

It was a warm night and teenagers flooded the school hall, where the senior prom was being held. Billy Tessio was currently spiking the punch bowl with his father's bourbon, he sneakily put the flask back in his jacket, while Vince stood guard just in case Mr. Raymond, the head of science, was watching.

"What is it about school dances? That makes the girls in this town cream?" Vince asked, while he watched his girl Tess dance away on the dance floor. "Tess is bound to put out tonight, Billy-Boy!"

"That's easy for some, my date, Connie, you know that chick with the titts? Yeah, she won't even let me touch 'em." Billy sighed. "But I'm hoping one sip of this punch will get her hot and heavy." He grinned as he poured himself a drink.

"She's a catholic, man. Not even heavy liquor will change that!"

"What you assholes pissing about?" Ace who had just walked into the hall, Gracie Black attached to his hip, she gave Vince and Billy a look as if to say stop staring at my chest, she sighed as she mumbled something and skipped over to her friends.

"Connie Palermo." Billy grunted as he passed a drink to Ace.

"The chick with the titts." Ace smirked, he ran a comb through his greased hair and put it back in his leather jacket.

"You're gonna get kicked out, Ace. Leather jacket's aren't in the formal code." Vince told him as he eyed Ace up and down, he was wearing what the locals called 'No good hood' clothing.

"And? Does it look like I fucking care?" Ace scoffed smugly, lighting a cigarette. "At least I don't look like you two pansies, wearing a fucking frilly shirt."

Billy mumbled something about his mom buying him this shirt and forcing him to wear it, he then proceeded to say. "Ahh. Rebecca's gonna be sad she missed this."

"Where is she anyway?" Vince asked, looking to see if she was with Cassie and Tess.

"Probably at home crying herself to sleep." Ace spat, he then downed his glass of punch and the three joined up with Fuzzy and a very drunk Cassie Saunders. He knew when Gracie came over to him and told him Rebecca already had a date, she was just lying, who would ask her?

"For hell on earth, Saunders. Keep it together, Raymond is already on our asses, we don't need you to mess it up." Vince grunted as she put her arms round his shoulders, while Tess tried to pry her off.

"What the fuck is in this drink?" Fuzzy sniffed at the glass before taking a sip. "Tastes like piss."

Cassie roared with laughter. "You drink piss!" She cackled and her boyfriend gave her a glare, he shoved her a little and she stumbled onto Ace, spilling her punch onto his shirt, staining it.

"Get that thing out of here, Bracowicz." Ace said unamused, his eyebrows raised as he stared at the drunk girl. "I ain't in the mood for drunken pussy." He slowly walked through the hall on his way to the rest room to salvage his shirt.

"What's up with, Merrill?" Cassie hiccuped and then she tried her best to stand straight.

"Two initials... R.C." Tess sighed.

"Ron Cramer? What's he got to do with Ace?" Vince questioned and he backed down a little when Tess gave him a shake of the head and rolled eyes and they all muttered 'idiot' under their breaths. "Rebecca Chambers." He gulped.

"Finally, dip-shit." Fuzzy laughed.

"No," Vince grabbed th ciff of Fuzzy's shirt and pulled him in the direction he was staring bug eyes. "Rebecca Chambers."

"Holy Mother of God! Is that Chambers with a copper?" Billy gulped as he watched Rebecca, strut in, walking hand in hand with Jamie Gallant, their mouths fell to the floor as they stared in disbelief.

"Uh yeah he asked her." Cassie told them.

"He what?" Came all the boys replied.

"Yeaaaah!" Cassie grinned as she began to tell them, Jamie had come up to her in the library, they stared at her gob-smacked that she hadn't told them such an important piece of information.

"Fuck." Billy breathed out, as he watched Rebecca and Jamie join the rest of The Copperheads, she stood smugly with her head held high, her face was dolled up to perfection, her hair was up with a flower stuck to it that matched the color of her bottle green cocktail dress, she played with her earrings as all the copperheads gathered round the pair.

She noticed The Cobras and the girls staring at her, she gave them a smirk as she started to walk over to them.

"What you three gawking at?" She grinned, while playing with her earrings and then fixing the flower on her head.

"Where'd you get the money for that?" Vince asked, noticing the pearl earrings that dangled from her ears.

"It was a gift." She smirked, she then looked around to see if Ace Merrill was anywhere in sight, slightly disappointed that she couldn't see him, she then raised her eyebrows as she watched Cassie dance. "Should have known you'd spike the punch!"

"Want some?" Billy offered taking the flask out of his pocket.

"No, thanks!" She replied, she had seen what drink had done to her brother and she didn't fancy becoming like him any time soon.

"Your loss!" Billy stated as he took a gulp and the passed it to Fuzzy.

The boys all glared at Jamie who had joined them, he put a hand round Rebecca's waist and pulled her close to him.

"Let's dance, Rebecca." He smugly grinned as he led her away to the slow dance that was taking place in the middle of the floor. "Say hello to Merrill for me." He winked at Vince.

They whispered amongst themselves as they watched Jamie take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor.

"Ace isn't going to like this."

Soon enough Ace had returned from the rest room, he zipped up his leather jacket, hiding the stain that was on his shirt.

"What you three gawking at?" He asked, unknowingly repeating the five words Rebecca had uttered just moments ago, they three boys gulped and motioned to the middle of the dance floor.

He let out a small chuckle, when he noticed a drunken Cassie dancing by herself in the middle of the floor, but his posture soon changed when he noticed Rebecca dancing next to her with a pair of manly hands holding her waist.

Billy, Vince and Fuzzy stared at him wondering what he was going to do, he grabbed the flask out of Vince's hands and took a swig he placed it back into Vince's hand and he began to walk to the dance floor.

They all expected him to walk over to Jamie and tare him away from his grip of Rebecca, but he didn't instead he grabbed Gracie Black's hand and brought her to the floor and began to slow dance with her.

"Ace Merrill slow dancing? Now I've seen it all."

"Yeah well at least he dances with his prom date!" Tess spat, giving Vince a glare, he had left her on her lonesome all night.

Rebecca was having a good time that was until she had seen Ace from the corner of her eye, his hands wrapped around Gracie Black and she felt a certain bit of rage build up inside her, her and Ace's eyes met half way through the song and he stared at her, his cold blue eyes burning into hers, she watched as he grabbed Gracie's face and planted a kiss on her full lips, she clutched Jamie's waist tighter with every kiss the two shared.

She didn't even realise the slow song had ended and now Elvis' _Hounddog _was playing. Jamie's grip of her waist loosened and she stepped back.

"C'mon, Chambers. Give us a kiss!" Jamie grinned as he leaned in close to her, she leaned away and tried to push him off, this had gotten way out of hand, she didn't even really like him, she only said yes to annoy the cobras, to annoy a certain someone. He forcefully grabbed at her arms and pulled her into him, his lips meeting hers, she squirmed trying to get him away but he was too strong.

His tongue entered her throat as he held onto her tightly and she closed her eyes in disgust.

She opened them when she felt his lips leave hers, as he was ripped away from her and he was met with a punch.

She screamed as she saw Ace Merrill's fist reach Jamie Gallants nose, she heard a breaking sound and Jamie fell into the back of Mr. Raymond.

He went to retaliate, fight back, but Mr. Raymond held onto his shoulders.

"Right, you two, out! Now!" Mr. Raymond's stern voice echoed through the hall as the music suddenly stopped.

Ace fixed the collar of his leather jacket and gave Jamie a glare before smirking at Mr. Raymond and walking coolly off.

"You ain't nothing but a hounddog." Jamie cackled as he watched Ace Merrill step out of the door and the music started to play again.

"I said you as well, Gallant."

* * *

Rebecca sighed as she stepped out into the cool air, this wasn't the night she had planned, she grabbed a cigarette from her purse and tried to find a light.

"Shit!" She swore, the cigarette still tightly rested on between her lips, as she realised she had forgotten it.

But her cigarette was soon lit by a zippo. She looked up, wondering who the mysterious hand belonged to but she should have known.

"Thanks." She spat coldly, this was all his fault, he was the reason she was now alone at the school prom.

"No problem." Ace smirked, as he joined her with a cigarette of his own, the collar of his leather jacket up and he leaned against the wall as he watched his fellow classmates get into cars.

They sat there silently, each puffing away at their own cigarette until Rebecca spoke. "Well done, Ace. You proved everyone right tonight, Ace. They all said you'd get kicked out of senior prom."

"Well you know me, I always prove people right."

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" She frowned as she stared at him.

"I know you, Chambers." He told her. "You didn't want him to kiss you."

"Well I can look after myself, I don't need your pity."

"Pity?" He spat and then mumbled a swear word.

"You are something else, _Ace_." She glared. "First of all, for some strange reason, you tell little miss perfect to knock on my door and announce that she is your prom date, then when someone asks me to the prom, because god-forbid someone might actually care, you punch his face in." She threw the cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with her heel.

His teeth clenched together.

"I can handle myself, Merrill. I don't need you to help." She got off from the wall she leaned on and she turned herself about to walk back into the door. "Well thanks for making me lose my prom date!"

He could feel some sort of anger building up inside of himself.

"Well maybe if you weren't dressed like a whore, you would still have one." He spat the cigarette out of his mouth.

"What did you call me?" She gulped as she turned and faced him

"You heard."

"I know but say it to my face!" She angrily walked up to him, their faces inches apart. "Say it again."

"You're dressed like a whore, _Rebecca._" His face straight and she could feel the tears build up inside her, with every cold stare he gave her.

They were interrupted by a car horn.

"Come on, Chambers. Get in." Jamie Gallant smirked from the driver's side of his Studebaker. She looked at Ace, who was still leaning against the wall as if nothing ever happened. "I ain't got all day, let's go to the creek!"

Rebecca knew what happened at the creek at this time of night, she gave one last look at Ace, his eyes had never left the wheels of the Studebaker.

"Seeing as I'm a whore, I might as well do it? Huh? John-John!" She angrily pushed his unresponsive chest and walked to Jamie's car and got in the passenger side, she took the liquor flask from his hands and took a gulp, she stared at Ace through the window as the first drop of alcohol she had ever tasted went down her throat.

He watched as Rebecca drove away in the car, his eyes never leaving the road.


	11. I Was Feeling Insecure

_***Later that night***_

The night had suddenly turned cold and Ace Merrill zipped up his leather jacket as he walked, he took out his comb and ran it through his greased hair, he didn't exactly know where he was going, his legs just did the walking, he wasn't in the mood to drive to the drive-in and catch a movie with the rest of his friends. He took out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling the smoke and then exhaling.

He began to think of the past, when his mother was still here, when he was close to Rebecca, everything was now messed up, he had been too busy trying to hide the fact that he missed his mother, trying to act tough, too busy trying to hide his emotions he had let Rebecca slip right out of his hands.

When he saw her dancing with Jamie, he was angry, jealous that she was letting someone else touch her and not him, he didn't mean the words he had called her he just wanted her to feel like he did.

Rebecca Chambers stood at the bridge, she took the bobby pins that held her hair into place out of her brown hair and her curls fell to her shoulders, she rubbed her eyes, smudging her perfect make-up, she stared into the river as she took the flower out of her hair and studied it before throwing it into the water, watching it float on the surface.

She began to cry but she soon composed herself when she heard footsteps walking towards her.

She took the beer bottle that she had placed on the railings, she had stolen it from Jamie Gallant's car before she had left, she took a drink as she watched Ace walk over to her, he leaned himself against the railing, his shoulders standing tall and his head held high as he watched her.

Their eye contact not breaking as she downed the beer, she held back the queasiness that the taste of the beer made her feel and she passed the bottle to him, he took it and finished it for her, his fingers peeling off the label.

"Gracie Black isn't going to be pleased with you, you know? Embarrassing her in front of all those seniors," Rebecca breathed.

"Well I don't exactly give a damn about how she feels," He snorted as a slight grin plastered his face. "Or the rest of those assholes."

"Don't I know it!" She spat. "You only give a damn about yourself and your hair." She spitefully glared at him.

He scoffed at her remark.

"You're a bitch." He spat back. "Do you know that?"

"You can leave now."

"Oh, don't worry I will." He threw the beer bottle on the floor, smashing it to pieces, Rebecca flinched in response, she watched as he got off the railing and stepped away from her before he turned to look at her one last time, noticing bite marks on her neck, he scoffed a chuckle. "What do they say? Once a slut...always a slut!"

"Don't you ever call me that again." She seethed. "I hate you."

"Trust me babe the feeling's mutual." He chuckled as she gave him a glare, he ran a hand through his hair. "I told you what that asshole did to Mrs. Ewings and you still fucked him."

"Well maybe I didn't want to." She breathed.

The frown on his face disappeared and it was replaced with a look of concern as he walked back to her, she looked at him strangely, he had never looked at anyone like that before.

"Did he attack you?" He put a hand on her shoulder, the touch of his hand on her skin sending shock waves right through her, but she shrugged it off. "I'll kill him." He spat, ready to take out his switch-blade and find Jamie Gallant and teach him a thing or two about manners.

"No he didn't attack me." She pushed his hand away. "I let him do it." She looked him in the eyes as his mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "Yeah! That's right, I let him fuck me, Ace."

He stared at her, not wanting to let the rage he felt inside of him come out. "Well good for you." He began to walk away again.

"You can call me a whore all you like, Ace, because that's what I'm thinking too," A small tear escaped from her eyes. "Rebecca Chambers, the whore, lost her virginity to some asshole who attacked a teacher." She wiped the tear away and she looked up at him knowing he was shocked about finding out that she had been a virgin, the whole town liked to talk and girls liked to spread rumors and she had no doubt in her mind that he didn't hesitate in believing them. "That's right, I was a virgin, well up until an hour ago! And I feel like a piece of shit, Ace, so save your nasty remarks for someone else and get the hell out of my face and my life."

He spat at the floor and then let out an angry breath, he then noticed she was shivering, she was finally feeling the cold night, he took off his jacket and shoved it in her hands.

"See you around, Chambers." He gritted his teeth and then she watched as he walked away from her, not saying a single word.

The events of the night finally had got to her and she began to sob.

She had been so insecure and hurt by the words he had spat at her at the dance, she had let Jamie Gallant have his way with her, he had made her feel wanted but afterwards she never felt more alone.


	12. Nothing's Fair

_***April 1959***_

It had been a strange six months for Rebecca, she and Ace had hardly spoken two words to each other since that time on the bridge, it had been the longest time she had ever went without speaking to him. She had been busy at home and he had been busy with Gracie Black. She couldn't bare to be in the same room as him let alone watch Gracie throw herself all over him.

She was in the middle of walking home, a bag full of groceries for the house, when she noticed Ace's '52 Ford parked out the front of Blue Point Diner. She figured he was probably in there with _her_, his arm draped around her slim shoulders! She frowned as she picked up the pace, not wanting to be seen and as she was about to take the next corner she heard his voice.

"Listen, Chambers. You little shit, I ain't gonna say this twice," Ace's threatening voice grumbled, she quickly retreated back, her back against the wall as she leaned her head closer to listen in. "You go spouting stuff you don't know, I'll take this cigarette and shove it in this here eye."

She gulped, what was going on? What had Christopher said this time?

"You stay away from me, man." She heard her brother pant.

"I don't take kindly to orders, kid!"

"Go to hell!"

She heard a scuffle and it was then that she decided she couldn't take any more so she ran back to where she had started, deciding to take the longest route home so she didn't have to risk talking to him.

* * *

It was a quarter past four when her younger brother returned home, she was in the middle of cooking supper when he strolled into the kitchen and took out a glass-bottle of soda from the refrigerator.

"That's mine!" Rebecca scowled.

"I bought it!" Chris replied, popping the lid off the bottle and getting ready to take a drink, she snatched it out of his hands.

"Well I claimed it!" She stuck her tongue out at him, she put the bottle to her lips and took a drink it was then that she noticed his left eye was swollen and bruised. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing!" Chris shrugged. "Dad's still on his mean streak, that's all."

"I know you're lying to me, Christopher. Now spill," She glared, she knew fine rightly who had given him the shiner.

"Leave it, Rebecca. It's not like you give a shit anyway,"

"Watch your mouth, before I wash it out with soap, kid your age shouldn't be cussing!" She glared at him. "Now what the hell did you say to Ace to get him to give you that eye-sore?"

"You really want to know?" He raised his eyes, she tilted her head and looked at him unamused. "I told him, that it should have been him that died instead of Denny Lachance."

"Why would you say that?" She frowned, crossing her arms.

"He was making fun of him, right in front of Gordie!" Chris blurted out. "I wasn't gonna stand by and watch!"

"Doesn't make it right what you said," Rebecca huffed.

"Well what do you know? Denny was a good kid, he didn't deserve to die-"

"That's the way it goes!"

"But it ain't fair!"

"Nothing's fair, Christopher." She blankly stated, he gave her a cold stare. "People die! I'm just glad it wasn't me."

"You're a cold hearted wrench!"

"Why? I didn't even know Lachance and you want me to grieve him?" She slammed the soda on the table and watched it fizz up just like the anger that was boiling up inside her.

"No, but a bit of care would be nice! You're just as bad as Merrill! You two belong together!" Chris glared at her as he stood from his seat.

"Bullshit!"

"Bulltrue!" He grumbled, he began his journey out of the kitchen and she grabbed a carrot that she had just peeled and threw it in his direction, it missed him and bounced off the wall. He picked it up and threw it into the trash-can that stood by the sink.

"Nice shot!" She smirked sarcastically.

"Well I never miss!"

She sighed as she carried on with the dinner, chopping the carrots angrily, Chris was wrong she was nothing like Ace Merrill!


	13. Swing For The Fences

Ace Merrill sat on the bonnet of his car, that was parked outside his Uncle's tyre shop, he smoked a cigarette and to any passer by they would have thought he was just another young man without a care in the world, but not Ace. He always had a thought in his head, he was smart, smarter then anyone thought he could ever be. He couldn't care less about what people in this scummy town thought of him, he knew they expected him to be like his father, a lousy no good drunk with shit for brains. As long as his appearance looked great he didn't give a rat's ass what people thought was underneath it.

He wouldn't admit to it but there was only one person in this place that he cared what she thought of him, but they had spoken hardly any words to each other in months and she infuriated him to no end, he was always calm and collected, he never showed his anger and she? Well she was the complete opposite, you could put the sweetest most kindest soul in the room with her and she would still lose her temper.

Just thinking about Rebecca Chambers made him clench his fists, he would have loved to wring her neck but at the same time push her up against the wall and, in the nicest way possible, screw her brains out.

And that's what confused the hell out of him. He was Ace Merrill and Ace Merrill couldn't feel that way about someone as his father likes to say, "Women are only good for three things; cooking, cleaning and satisfying a man's need. Let them into your pants but not your head." And somehow Rebecca had wormed her way inside his head and he couldn't seem to get her out, no matter how many times he tried. He even started dating Gracie Black for Christ's sake in hope he'd forget about that moody Chambers, but she was everywhere.

His thoughts were soon knocked away when Billy Tessio and Charlie Hogan walked over to him, a baseball bat in Billy's rough hands.

"What you homos want?" Ace greeted his pals.

"Me and Charlie were thinking of having a game of baseball, what do you say, Ace? You in?" Billy asked as he played with the wooden bat, swinging it up and down.

"Do I look like the kind to play baseball?" Ace scoffed, who did Billy Tessio think he was? "It's a faggot's sport!"

"Not the kinda game we had planned!" Charlie excitedly exclaimed. "We were gonna see how many windows we can smash. Total destruction! The town won't know what hit it."

Ace smirked as he jumped off his car. "I got a better idea. Get in!" He motioned Billy and Charlie to the car, the two friends looked at each other in wonder before hastily getting in the car as Ace took the bat from Billy's hand. "You're driving, Tessio!"

"Yeah!" Billy smirked as he started the engine.

And as they drove through a quiet street and past the houses, as soon as he saw the nearest mailbox, he smirked as he got up from his seat and got ready with the bat. "Batter up!" He said through his toothpick and he swung the bat hard and fast, hitting the box in the process and it flew off its stand. Billy and Charlie cackled with laughter and Ace sat smugly in the passenger side.

This game would surely pass the time in this boring town.

"Come on, Ace! Swing for the fences!" Charlie laughed.

"I always do!" Ace grinned as he took another go and swung at the Violets mailbox.


	14. I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent

_***May 1959***_

"Rebecca, you have to join me and Tess at the junk-yard tonight." Cassie told her friend as they sat in their favorite spot in the Blue Point Diner, _Elvis' A Fool Such As I _played softly on the jukebox and Rebecca tapped her saddle shoes on the floor with the music, she sighed at Cassie, she really wasn't in the mood for any interaction with The Cobras and especially Ace Merrill, she responded with a shake of her head. Cassie smiled slightly as she looked behind her, her smile turned into a full grin as she nudged Rebecca's arm.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked.

"Look who's walking by." Cassie grinned as she watched through the window.

"Who is it?" Rebecca grumpily asked as she turned her head and joined Cassie's gaze to the window, she then groaned as her eyes took in Ace Merrill and Jack Mudgett coolly walk past. "Well, I'm not going if _he _is going to be there!" She slammed her sundae spoon on the table, making sure she emphasised 'he' as angrily as she could.

"Stop being such an ankle-bitter." Cassie sighed, wiping off the ice cream that had splashed onto her sweater. "Get yourself out of bugsville and join us. Besides Ace and Mudge, they won't even be there tonight."

"I'm not a child." Rebecca responded to Cassie's insult. "What do you mean? They're always there!"

"Not tonight. Ace is going down to Weed Hill." Cassie told her. "You know? The place where all the guys play chicken."

"Yeah, I know the place." Rebecca sighed, the Weed Hill in Durham was a well known spot for all kind of teenage delinquent behavior.

"I heard Fuzzy talking about it to Charlie, there's gonna be a brawl or somethin', so all the guys are going it'll be just me and Tess tonight," Cassie grinned before she placed her purse on the table and opened it up. "Look what I swiped from my folks' cabinet!"

"Walking talking smokes! That's pure liquor!"

"I know!" Cassie sat proudly. "So you in?"

"Sure." Rebecca smiled. "Let's go."

"Shit, I just realised I forgot my cash."

"And?"

"Well how we gonna pay for the food?" Cassie gulped.

"Easy." Rebecca grinned as she got up from the booth and pulled Cassie up with her. "Like this!" She laughed as she ran to the door, Cassie's hand in hers and they disappeared out of the joint.

"Now that's what I call 'Dine 'n' Dash." Jack Mudgett laughed as Rebecca and Cassie bumped into him. Rebecca noticed Ace, who was leaning up against his shiny ford, a cigarette in one hand and the other in his pocket.

"Noreen Tupper is going to flip!" Cassie glared at Rebecca.

"Well I'm not the one who forgot the bread." Rebecca reminded her friend.

"That's 'cause you never have any." Jack insulted her.

"Drop dead twice" Rebecca grumbled to him as she grabbed Cassie's arm and forced her to cross the road.

"What and look like you?"

"Where you going, Chambers?" A voice who hadn't spoken to her in months asked her.

She turned to look at Ace, his mouth had formed into a slight grin as he stared at her. She watched as he stood away from his car and walked over to the drivers side, he opened the door and sat himself down onto the leather. She didn't reply to him, instead she tilted her head and joined his smile.

"Get in." Ace ordered both her and Cassie to join him in his car. Rebecca didn't hesitate she confidently strolled up to the car and jumped into the back seat, she ran her right hand through her hair as she moved over for Cassie join her.

"Hand me a coffin nail, Jack!" Rebecca demanded seeing a pack of smokes in Jack's hands, he passed her one and she snatched it off him. "What? No light?" Jack didn't need to hand her his matchbox because before he could even reply, Ace had grabbed his zippo from the side of his car and had flicked it on.

Rebecca leaned forward, the cigarette in her mouth, she smiled slightly as she placed the cigarette onto the flame and sucked it in. Ace flicked the lighter shut and proceeded to start his engine.

_Ain't That A Shame _by _Fats Domino_ blared out from the car radio.


	15. Got My Mind Set On You

**Authors Note: **Hey an update, yay and the last one for this story, you know what that means? I'll be focusing on the spin off and sequel now, yay! And it will be filled with plenty of drama. Anyway I hope you like the last chapter, I really enjoyed writing this one.

Thank you to **JustAnotherGoofball, WithLoveForever **and **CastleRockGirl. **This chapter makes up for such the short ones and I hope you...

Enjoy!

* * *

"Knock knock!" Jack grinned as he turned himself to face Rebecca and Cassie, his arms resting on the leather seats of Ace's car as Ace drove them around town.

Rebecca and Cassie looked at each other before Rebecca turned to him. She shook her head and squinted her eyes at him as she asked him. "Who's there?"

"Dozer." Jack grinned.

"Dozer who?" Cassie asked, giving him the same unamused look Rebecca had.

"Those are the biggest tits I ever seen." Jack cackled with laughter.

"Ewww!" Rebecca looked at Jack in disgust as he raised his eyebrows cheekily at her, he soon stopped when he felt a blunt force to the side of his head, Cassie's purse hitting his left cheek.

"That ain't the way you talk to girls, Jack." Cassie told him.

"Yeah, you carry on like that you'll be-" Rebecca laughed before she was interrupted.

"Jerking off on your own for the rest of your life." Ace finally joined in on the conversation.

"See? This guy here, is just as rude as me," Jack proudly stated as he placed his left hand on Ace's right shoulder. "So why don't you start nagging at him?"

Rebecca shrugged as Cassie sat back in her seat, Jack had defeated them.

"Will you get your hand off me, Mudge." Ace pushed him away. "I already had one wash today, I don't need another."

"Yeah, I forgot. That's the hand I used when I was thinking of Annette Clark." Jack chuckled as he began to shove his hand in front of Rebecca's face.

"Ace," Rebecca yelled. "Stop the car." She could hear the chuckle escaping his lips as he ignored her. "I mean it! Stop the car." She pleaded and he finally pulled over, he turned round to face her as he pulled on the hand break and raised his eyebrows at her. "If you're not gonna kick that little shit outta the car, we're leaving!" She stated as she looked at Cassie and the two crossed their arms.

"Like he'll choose you two over his best bud." Jack stated proudly as he began to light a cigarette. "There's no wa-"

"Well? Who is it, Ace? Me or him?" Rebecca talked over Jack, she then pursed her lips.

Ace looked over at Jack and gave him a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders with little sympathy.

"What?" Jack protested as the cigarette fell out of his mouth. "Man, there's no way you're choosing them over me!"

"Just get out, Jacky." Ace turned his attention back to the road. Cassie smiled as she leaned over and opened the car door for Jack to exit.

Jack shook his head and sighed as he picked up his half smoked cigarette and begrudgingly scooted out of the car.

"Always knew you had brains, Merrill." Rebecca laughed confidently as she got up from the back seat behind Ace and jumped in beside him, she cranked the radio up as Ace started his engine about to speed off, but he was interrupted.

"Oh, double do-do." Cassie shrieked.

"What is it?" Rebecca sighed at her.

"I just remembered I promised Tess, I'd help rat her hair." Cassie explained. The smile that had graced Rebecca's face had now left and was replaced with a frown, her and Cassie had been friends for as long as she could remember and she knew it was a damn lie.

"Out you get, Saunders." Ace told her as he chewed on his toothpick.

"See ya." Cassie grinned as she placed her hands on the side of the car about to pull herself up when Rebecca grabbed her by her wrists. "Remember half six tonight!"

"Wait!" Rebecca grunted as the two girls looked each other in the eyes as if they were having a conversation with their minds.

_'You dare leave me here.'_

_'If I do?'_

_'Fuck! What am I supposed to do?'_

_'That's your problem.' _

Cassie beamed a smile as she pushed Rebecca's hand off of her wrist and got out of the car, Rebecca glared at her friend as she watched her disappear down Linen Lane. Ace had now started to drive and he pulled out of the space he had parked up, the two not saying a word.

"Shit!" Rebecca exclaimed out loud, she had only meant for it to be a slight mutter but it had come out louder then she had hoped.

"Say that again?" Ace grinned at her, she took a gulp before giving him a shrug and ran her fingers automatically through her hair in sheer awkwardness.

The two drove in silence and Rebecca didn't know if he was taking her somewhere or if they were just going for a quick drive, but whatever reason the tension was strange and it was on the tip of her tongue to start up a conversation with him, but she was too nervous.

What could she say to him? There was a small part of her that wanted to mention that she had missed him, she would never want him to find that out though. She scratched at her hair hoping she would see someone that would save her from this awkward car ride.

Ace soon pulled up to her house and she let out a sigh of relief. Two reasons, she was finally about to be set free from the tension filled drive and two, her dad's truck and her moms Buick were both out of the driveway, meaning one thing she was home alone and she would finally have peace and quiet for a quick rest.

"Here you are," Ace smirked and she looked at him, how he had managed to stay calm and amused she would never know, she was jealous, here she was feeling awkward and embarrassed and there Ace was acting like nothing had changed at all. When Jack and Cassie had been in the car, she was filled with confidence but when they had left leaving her on her own with him all that confidence had been sucked out of her.

_Keep it together, Chambers! _She told herself, she then put her head up high and her shoulders wide. "Well," She let out a breath. "Good luck in your game of chicken tonight."

"What game of chicken?" Ace asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Cassie told me you and the guys were heading up to Durham."

"So you just assumed I was playing chicken?" Ace questioned.

"That's all you do isn't it?" She questioned, "Well, what are you doing up there then?"

"Still can't keep your nose out of everything, can ya?" Ace chuckled before taking a drag of the cigarette and exhaling it in perfect execution. "Just going for a couple of beers with some friends."

"Can't you do that at Irby's?"

"I got barred for a couple of days. Besides it feels good to get out of this fucking town, you should try it!"

"Maybe one day I will." She sighed, she reached over the back seat and picked up her purse and silk sweater. "I'll see ya." She smiled as she got out of the car, she was a quarter way up her garden when Ace called out to her.

"And, Chambers?" She raised her head towards him, her eyes lighting up. "It was good talking to ya." He smiled and before she could strum up a sentence he was gone.

"You too." She muttered as she walked up the path to her house, once she was inside she closed the door behind her and leaned the back of her head against the cold frame. She clutched at her purse and sweater.

What had just happened? Had Ace just said something nice to her? His words still ringing through her ears. She threw her purse on to the small table that was besides the stairs and hung her sweater over the banister and made her way to the bedroom.

She kicked off her shoes as she laid on her bed, her head resting on her hands as she began to yawn.

She began to mentally curse herself for not being able to talk to him during the entire car ride, it wasn't like her to get tongue tied and as she cursed at herself again she then realised something. Ace! He hadn't said a word either.

What did that mean? Was he too embarrassed to speak too but that wasn't like Ace at all. She started to block out her over-used mind and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

She gasped for breath as she woke up from her sleep, her heart pounding fast, recovering from the dream she had just had. She wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead and regained control of her breathing. She was finally out of the nightmare. But something didn't feel right and she couldn't quite place her hand on it.

She looked at the time, it was past seven and she had promised Cassie she would meet her and Tess at the junk-yard at half six. She ran down the stairs and grabbed her moms keys to the Buick and was soon out of the door. It didn't take long to reach the junk-yard and she soon greeted Cassie and Tess who were sitting on the old camper van that had been junk for the past year.

Not forgetting what Cassie had done to her she walked over to her and gave her a slight slap on the arm.

"Hey, don't get so mad." Cassie laughed.

"That's like asking the sun not to shine." Tess told her and Rebecca gave Tess a glare. "It's true." Tess shrugged in return.

"Anyway relax, Ace, ain't going to be here tonight." Cassie told her as she passed Rebecca over a cup filled with her parents liquor. "Told you he's out with Clint Bracken."

"Who?"

"Clint Bracken." Tess answered. As soon as Rebecca heard the words that had came out of Tess' mouth the drink she had in her hands fell to the floor. It had felt like a wave had knocked her into the ocean.

"What? You know him or somethin'?" Cassie asked curiously.

"We got to go!" Rebecca grabbed the drinks out of Tess' and Cassie's hands and threw them to the floor. "How long does it take to get to Durham?"

"Forty-five minutes or you can knock a fifteen off of that if you high tail it, why?" Tess answered, she knew the drive to Durham like the back of her hand, Vince was always taking her there to have some alone time.

"And you know where Weed Hill is?"

"Yeah, everyone knows."

"I mean, can you drive to it?" Rebecca pushed Tess into the driving seat of the beat up Buick.

"Sure, I think." Tess stuttered.

"What's going on?" Cassie asked as Rebecca had just forced her into the back seat.

"I don't know but I gotta stop whatever the hell is." Rebecca gulped.

* * *

"Hey, Ace, man. Pass me a beer." Jack asked and a few second later he caught the beer that had been thrown over to him. "Knock knock." He turned to Vince.

"Who's there?"

"Dozer."

Ace rolled his eyes as he walked away from the two, he heard Vince's reaction to the joke and his thoughts soon went to Rebecca, he sipped his beer quietly as a group of guys walked over towards him.

"How's it hanging, Ace." Clint Bracken, a guy he had played a few games of chicken with greeted him, he passed Ace a cigarette who in return passed him a beer, Ace took the cigarette and put it behind his ear as he watched Clint pop open the bud.

"Shit, man. We're running out of beer." Billy Tessio, who was in the middle of a game of cards with Charlie Hogan, added.

"Well, you're gonna have to go get some." Clint Bracken told Billy.

"I ain't going." Billy glared at the guy. "Why don't you make them go?" Billy whined to Ace as he motioned towards Clint and his pals. "Seeing as they just got here and all."

"Good point." Ace smirked. "That sound reasonable to you?" He turned to Clint.

"Sure thing." Clint shrugged.

"It's settled then."

Ace watched as Clint walked towards him and pulled him to one side. "Man, you gotta join us."

"Why?"

Clint looked over his shoulders, making sure the coast was clear, before turning back to Ace. "I know a guy down in Fairview, who's down here tonight. Says he can fix me up a few things."

"Like what?" Ace asked pulling out the cigarette behind his ear and placing it in his mouth.

"It's all hush hush, but errr, you heard of Rick Stronghold?" Clint whispered as he watched Ace light his cigarette with a stroke of a match.

"Yeah, leader of The 'Condas, why?" Ace puffed on the cigarette intensely.

"Well he's organising it all. Shit, man. We're in for a fucking lot of money!" Clint grinned. "So we say we're going to get the beers but really we're going to get a ton of fucking cash."

"Alright, but I only think it's fair we let everyone in."

It didn't take long for Ace to tell the rest of The Cobras what was going down and they all decided that they would take all their cars and go down, Ace being the smart one decided it was in his best interests to leave his car behind, he couldn't risk anyone recognise him and his car.

He was about to join Clint in his Mustang when a worn out Buick screeched into the parking lot.

"What the fuck?" Clint asked as he watched the Buick's engine fill with smoke and the exhaust pipe smoking out a fire.

Ace chuckled as he watched three pairs of legs waddle out of the car. Cassie and Tess coughing like crazy, they then noticed whose company they were in and suddenly regained their posture.

Rebecca Chambers walked over to Tess and smacked her round the arm. "Look what you did to my ma's car!"

"Hey, you said to burn some rubber." Tess spat back at her.

"That's the last time I let you drive."

"Girls, girls, girls." Vince cackled, interrupting what was about to be a full on war of words. "Cool it."

"What you doing here?" Fuzzy asked as he walked over too Cassie and put an arm round her shoulder.

"Beats me!" Cassie sighed and she pushed Rebecca back a little. "She wanted to come!"

"You wanna come?" Clint laughed. "I'll make ya cum." Ace shot him a glare and Clint backed down straight away.

Rebecca rushed over to him and tried to pull Ace away but he stood still. "What is it?"

"Ace, you can't do whatever you're about to do!"

"How do you know about that?" Ace frowned, wondering how in the hell Rebecca knew about what was about to go down.

"I don't know anything, but I know you're not supposed to be in that car."

Ace chuckled slightly. "Why? What's gonna happen?"

"Something bad."

"Oh, really?" Ace laughed again.

"Stop laughing at me." Rebecca glared as she crossed her arms. "You can't go!"

"Well, I am, Chambers. Whether you like it or not." Ace smirked again as he turned away from her and made his way back to Clint's car.

"Will this stop you?" She grabbed Ace by the arms as she turned him around and planted a kiss on his lips.

She didn't exactly know what she was thinking but she had to stop him somehow and if this was the only way that could stop him then so be it. She pulled away from him in what seemed like an eternity but had only been three seconds. Ace looked at her in some what shock and excitement, she coughed breaking the awkward tension again, maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

"Alright, assholes. Get out of the car." Ace told Clint and his pals and then he motioned for the cobras to get out of theirs. He turned to Rebecca. "I'll let the God's decide." He chuckled at her and she tilted her head in wonder.

As everyone gathered round Ace pulled out a coin. "What we flipping for?" He asked Clint.

"Heads go back home, tails go get some 'beer'."

* * *

**September 1959**

Rebecca Chambers walked down the quiet streets of her home town, the sun was out and it was hot, too hot. She crossed the road as she lit her last cigarette and threw the pack onto the floor.

Her mom was out at work and her father was conked out in the back yard, so she decided now would be the time to go get herself some candy and cigarettes, she had stolen a few dollars out of her families safe pot, an old boot that hid in the cupboard under stairs, she figured that would keep her till the end of the day.

"Where you off too, Chambers?" She heard a familiar voice ask her from the alleyway that lead to the back of Blue Point Diner.

"Don't you know, serial killers hide behind these alleyways?" Rebecca asked Ace as she puffed on her cigarette.

"I can look after myself." Ace smirked.

"Sure you can." Rebecca smirked back.

It had been four months since the incident in Weed Hill and they hadn't spoken of it since, not the accident nor the kiss.

"Fancy a game of pool?"

"Only if I get to wipe that smirk off your face." Rebecca smiled confidently as she walked head held high as Ace followed her.

"That's never going to happen."

"We'll see." She smiled again as they walked in silence.

He watched her as they walked together, as he watched her hair bounce with every step, her curled eyelashes blink every second, he knew then that he had to have her and she would be his.

They reached Irby's Billiards and he opened the door for her to step in, the door stayed open as he let go of it. He stopped for a second, watching her confidently look around the place, she then noticed he wasn't next to her and she turned round she frowned at him slightly a small look of amusement on her lips.

No matter how long it took or how much he'd have to spend, he had his sights on her and his mind set, Rebecca Chambers would be his.

The kiss she had given to him had awoken some kind of feeling, he loved this girl and he would do everything he could to get her.

_"Foul."_

**The End**

Ahh the end of the prequel and I wanted to tie it in with the beginning so that's what that 'foul' is at the end, the first word that is spoken in Nonofficial Love. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this story, not much happened in it but I wanted to do a little back story into their relationship, hope Ace isn't ooc. The end part and the chapter title was sort of inspired by George Harrison's 'Got My Mind Set On You'

Big thank you to those who reviewed; **JustAnotherGoofball, Chailyn Kamaria, CastleRockGirl, WithLoveForever **and **Izout**, you guys are amazing and to those who read this, faved/alerted, I wouldn't be here writing if it wasn't for you, I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world so it really does mean a lot to me knowing people enjoyed this :D

P.S. If I get to 50 reviews I will update both Officially Tied and WWTBoL in one day.


End file.
